Meme coins are clearly moving again with indicative signs of a risk-on attitude, with traders jumping back into familiar plays. There’s been a noticeable shift in the crypto market lately, especially within Solana-based meme coins. After a few slow weeks marked by low activity and hesitation across the board from Trump's tariff wars, coins like BONK, Popcat, and dogwifhat (WIF) have returned to the spotlight.
Take BONK, for example. This trending meme coin quietly rallied over 73%, climbing from its recent low of $0.00001247 to a high of $0.00002167 in just a matter of days. What's more surprising is that this surge occurred while much of the broader Solana ecosystem was still finding its footing.
Aside from BONK, Popcat is up 53%, and WIF has gained about 66% over the past two weeks, fueling conversations about whether meme coin season is truly back. Source: TradingView BONK/USD daily chart So, what’s behind this sudden bounce in prices? Part of it follows a familiar pattern seen in past cryptocurrency cycles.
As soon as crypto traders sense a market bottom, meme coins are often the first to move. These tokens are easy to hype, supported by vocal online communities, and typically require less capital to spark big percentage gains. But beyond that, there's growing momentum in the form of increased memecoin trading volume, according to a report from Cointelegraph—over $7.96 billion in just seven days.
That’s an 85% jump, indicating more than just speculative buzz. Behind the scenes, BONK’s open interest (OI) on crypto exchanges surged from $11 million to more than $43 million last week before dropping slightly to under $28 million. Even with the dip, the OI remains much higher than average, often interpreted as a signal of renewed trader confidence, or at the very least, curiosity.
Source: CoinGlass BONK open interest Hype, Narratives, and the Power of Speculation The rumors swirling around a potential BONK ETF are only adding to the FOMO. While nothing is confirmed, the mere idea of an ETF gives investors a narrative to latch onto, exactly the kind of speculative story that meme coins are built to amplify. These narratives contribute to the broader conversation around digital assets, especially those with little to no underlying utility.
However, as past market trends have shown, pump-and-dump cycles are common in the meme coin space. Prices can skyrocket in a short time, only to crash when the excitement fades. Without strong fundamentals, these altcoins often struggle to maintain value, making them attractive for speculative trading but risky for long-term holding.
What’s Next for Meme Coins? Meme coins are clearly moving again with indicative signs of a risk-on attitude, with traders jumping back into familiar plays. Whether this marks the start of a sustained altcoin rally or just another short-lived peak in the broader cryptocurrency cycle remains uncertain.
If the momentum continues and new use cases or adoption stories emerge, we might witness a more extended meme coin season as seen earlier this year. But if it’s all hype with no substance, history could easily repeat itself.
